


Hook's Secret

by ardentaislinn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 11:25:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1345732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A headcanon/speculation fic about what the promo for 3x14 meant</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hook's Secret

“What aren’t you telling me?” Emma asked him.

Hook shuffled a little and she could sense his discomfort.

The two of them were in the forest surrounding Storybrooke, trying to find clues as to where the Flying Monkeys have been hiding…or are they nesting? Either way, they had just about given up, so Emma had decided that now was as good a time as any to confront him about his changing story in regards to the message he received.

“Nothing of import, lass,” he replied.

She rolled her eyes. “I know when you’re lying, remember?”

He smiled at her without humour. “Aye. It makes it difficult for a man to have his secrets.” He didn’t seem particularly put out by this, just resigned.

“So, what is it? Is it about Henry? Or Neal? Or the year of memories everyone has lost? What?”

He sighed. “It isn’t any of those things, love. If I had felt you needed the information for your current quest, I would have told you.”

“C’mon, Hook. You know I’ll find out eventually. It’s about the message you received, isn’t it? Your story changed.”

“I just…didn’t want to explain to you or your parents right then. It is a long tale, and hardly bears repeating.”

“Repeat it now.” Her voice brooked no argument.

“Fine,” he told her, clearly not too happy. “The memory potion didn’t come with the message. I was given instructions on which ingredients were required, instead. They were quite rare, and it was a challenge to acquire them, particularly since I assumed the quest was of a time-sensitive nature.”

Her instincts went on immediate alert. “What did you do? What happened?”

“There was only one person that I knew that could get me the ingredients quickly. A man that deals in rare objects such as those.” Emma could see the tension in his body. Hook definitely did not want to tell this story. She felt almost bad for pushing him, but she knew that she needed to find out what had happened. For his sake, as well as hers.

“Who?”

Hook hesitated, and she could see his jaw working. She waited. “Blackbeard,” he said eventually. “My father.”

Emma felt her brows climb to her hairline. “Seriously?” she muttered faintly.

The corner of Hook’s mouth quirked up. “Seriously.”

“I thought your father abandoned you at sea?”

“Oh, he did. We crossed paths years later. It wasn’t a happy reunion.”

Emma’s heart ached for him. “So, that’s what you’ve been hiding? That you had to see your father again?”

“If only it were that. You see, Blackbeard never does anything without payment. So, when I went to him, I knew that I would have to trade for the items I needed to save you. And I only had one thing of value.”

Emma felt tears gather in her eyes. “The Jolly Roger,” she whispered. Hook blinked a few times, then nodded once, sharply.

“Oh, Hook. You gave up the Jolly to a man you despise, for what? A chance to return me to my family?” She moved closer to him, drawn by the need to offer comfort. Emma had the feeling that she couldn’t even imagine half of what this had cost him.

She squeezed his hand, and he flipped it to entwine their fingers together. He rubbed his thumb over her palm, thoughtful. She didn’t pull away, didn’t want to.

“You know I didn’t do it for them,” he told her in a soft voice. “I did it for you. To see you again, to save you, to make you happy.”

Emma’s breath caught in her throat. “But your ship…”

“Nothing I wouldn’t give up a thousand times for you. You should know that by now, Emma.”

She blinked away the tears forming in her eyes and looked down at their interlocked fingers. The thing was, she did know. He really would come back to her, for her. Always.  
It was such a significant gesture, him giving up his ship, his home for her. She thought about the other time people in her life had made big gestures in the name of their love for her. Her parents, sending her away, twice; Neal, abandoning her to a prison term; and even she had followed in their footsteps by giving Henry up. All those acts of love, and all she had been left with was loneliness.

Yet, here was a man who had done the opposite. He had broken the toxic trend that had threaded through her whole life. His act of love was to cross realms to return to her, to be by her side. To bring her back to the people that loved her. 

At this realisation, Emma felt a wave of overwhelming emotion, much of it directed toward the man standing in front of her, looking at her nervously. She couldn’t speak, could only wait as all those emotions settled into three she recognised: affection, gratitude, and relief.

She looked up into Hook’s eyes and squeezed his hand. “Thank you,” she told him with the utmost sincerity.

He gave a subdued approximation of his old grin. “Ah, Swan,” he began affectionately. “One day you will realise you are worth it all and more.”

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: I was going to make them kiss at the end there, but since I wanted this to be an approximate headcanon, I figured it was too soon for that kind of thing. But they will need to have an emotional moment sometime soon, I’m sure.
> 
> Speaking of headcanons, I think that the only thing Hook would conceal from Emma is his own heroism/sacrifice. If it was about Neal, I think he’d tell her, which was proven in Neverland. Still, you never know.


End file.
